In the central meeting room of Loguetown…
There was no need for Rowen to intervene. Vice Admiral Momonga, like a parent checking their child’s homework, waited with an imposing presence for Smoker to bring in the documents that needed reviewing.
After dismissing anyone else who wanted to help, Vice Admiral Momonga personally opened the reports. Under Smoker’s anxious gaze, he began to scrutinize them one by one.
Soon enough, the meeting room resounded with Vice Admiral Momonga’s mocking comments.
“You spent 7 Million Belly on Battleship repairs. Was your Battleship made of gold?!”
“And why is there so much damage to the town? Were there no distinctions made in the battle locations?!”
“What’s this? Complaints from the town’s residents?!”
“Cough cough… Um, Vice Admiral Momonga, sir.”
Sensing trouble, Smoker shot a ruthless glare at Tashigi, who was standing nearby and clearly not very clever. He awkwardly spoke up, “Before, half of Loguetown’s shops relied on doing business with pirates for their livelihoods. When I arrived, I scared most of the pirates away from going to sea, which made their business suffer.”
“White Hunter” Smoker was a well-known figure in East Blue. Because of his almost invincible Logia ability, he could confidently face any pirate. Being in charge of Loguetown, the gateway to the Reverse Mountain, naturally led to a sharp decline in the once-thriving pirate business.
“But their complaint against you is that you’ve damaged the streets and haven’t repaired them!”
Vice Admiral Momonga slammed his hand on the table with a resounding thud. “If you can’t even fix the roads, who will want to buy anything from them?!”
“Um… well… I’m trying to find ways to raise funds…”
Smoker remembered a few days ago when a group of captured pirates led to shop owners coming to him with complaints. Although most of Loguetown’s residents were too afraid to provoke him due to his fierce appearance, merchants didn’t care about that.
If you disrupted their business by destroying the streets, they believed they were entitled to compensation and would demand it from even Whitebeard himself if he were there.
Dealing or not dealing— that was the key!
“Raise funds… but how are you planning to do that? You can’t even come up with the money to repair a single street. What on earth are you Base Heads eating?”
Vice Admiral Momonga glared at him before he took a deep breath and said. “I’ll allocate 1,000,000 Belly for you to use for road repairs… but don’t be too quick to celebrate! This money will be deducted from your next year’s military budget as it is not provided by me personally. Understood?”
“Understood! Thank you so much, Vice Admiral Momonga, sir!” Smoker grinned awkwardly as he spoke.
Actually, he was planning to use the Bounty money set aside for pirates to subsidize his expenses. He could just adjust the accounts a bit to make it look less suspicious when clearing out pirates in the future.
Of course, he would never admit this idea even under torture!
Rowen knew Smoker’s character and believed he wouldn’t engage in corruption. However, managing a branch was no simple task. Even if one had a noble character, they still needed to eat, right?
The resident complaints were just the beginning. Smoker unintentionally caused quite a mess when he didn’t pay attention to the accounts. Once examined, there were quite a few discrepancies.
The more Vice Admiral Momonga investigated, the darker his expression became. His roaring almost never ceased, while Smoker stood nearby, flipping through the paperwork with vacant eyes, giving half-hearted responses. It was like they were performing a comedic skit.
At this moment, Rowen felt a gaze fixated on him and curiously turned his head.
“You are…”
“Sorry to disturb you. I’m Tashigi, Captain Smoker’s Senior official’s assistant!”
Alongside other Marine soldiers, Tashigi stood against the wall beside the desk. Ever since witnessing Vice Admiral Momonga’s lightning-fast strike, her gaze hadn’t left him. When she suddenly looked in his direction, Rowen finally took notice.
The current Tashigi was not the future Tashigi, who, while a bit air-headed, had already become a qualified Marine Swordsman. In 1518, she was still somewhat youthful, and her face still retained a hint of innocence despite having completed her coming-of-age ceremony.
She had short hair, wore black-framed glasses, and donned a somewhat outdated floral T-shirt in green and red.
Faced with Rowen’s gaze, Tashigi was completely flustered, lowering her head and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, like a startled little animal.
‘Am I really that scary?’ Rowen was utterly perplexed.
“If you have something to say, just say it. I’m much easier to talk to than that guy over there with the purple yam for a head.”
As Vice Admiral Momonga scolded Smoker, he suddenly asked, “Hm? Rowen, did you say something?”
“Nothing important, please continue…” Rowen smirked and said, “My apologies for the disturbance!”
It seemed like Tashigi had gathered some unknown courage. She took a deep breath and looked up at Rowen with determination in her eyes. “Vice Admiral Rowen, you must be a very powerful swordsman, right?”
“I’ve read in the newspapers about the famous blade you used to carry. What’s its name? If it’s possible… could you let me take a look? I promise, I just want to see it!” Tashigi rattled off a series of questions, leaving Rowen utterly baffled.
So she was interested in the Thunder Cloud Sword…
Rowen knew that Tashigi wasn’t just a starstruck fangirl. Her love for swords made it impossible for her to tolerate a famous blade being wielded by a wicked person. She vowed to reclaim all the famed blades unjustly taken by such individuals.
Though Rowen wasn’t a wicked person, Thunder Cloud Sword’s frequent appearances alongside him in the news naturally caught the attention of this girl who treasured her blades.
In the past, this request wouldn’t have been a big deal. Taking a look wouldn’t cost him anything.
But now…
“Sorry, but I don’t think you’ll get to see it.”
Hearing this, the hope in Tashigi’s eyes visibly faded.
“I’m… I’m sorry! I was too presumptuous!”
To a swordsman, their blade was like a second life. Even the hotheaded ones would go all out if someone touched their blade.
Tashigi knew her request was a bit excessive.
“What are you thinking? It’s not that I don’t want to show it to you, but you’re destined to never cross paths with it.”
The news reports only focused on his clash with the Hundred Beasts Pirates, so why would they mention the minor detail of his blade being missing?
Rowen reached out and patted Tashigi’s head, smiling. “During the battle with the Hundred Beasts Pirates, Kaido broke the Thunder Cloud Sword. That’s why I didn’t bring it with me.”
“I see… I see!”
Feeling the warmth from his hand, Tashigi blushed a bit and berated herself internally.
‘So it’s not that Rowen won’t let me see it, but the Thunder Cloud Sword was broken and not here. I guess I’m just not fated to meet it…’
‘Broken?! Wait a moment!!’
Suddenly, Tashigi raised her head in shock, her eyes wide as she looked at Rowen. “Thunder Cloud Sword?! The Dragon-forged Sword, Thunder Cloud?! The legendary blade said to house the soul of a Dragon, capable of controlling the power of lightning, not one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords but on par with them, that same Thunder Cloud Sword?!!”
‘Hey, wait a minute, isn’t the focus supposed to be on the fact that Kaido broke it?!! Your point of interest is really peculiar, little miss!!’ Seeing the astonishment on Tashigi’s face, Rowen was utterly flabbergasted by the thought process of this young girl!
(End of this chapter)
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